Shades of Gray
by Catoust
Summary: Her brother always had the best intentions. But in a world filled with corruption, where is the line between Good and Evil? One-shot due to loss of interest.


Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Furs of Plots Bunnies that frolic inside my head

* * *

"You have no proof, Mat!" His sister, Violet. She's a Wind mage. She's nice to be around, and she's always helping me out with either Spells or Assignments. She's one of my few friends here at The Academy.

"Proof? That stupid bird follows us everywhere! It's always leading us to dropped notes or places that we can do something!" The bird he was referring to was the same bird that brought me to them. Our first meeting involved me trying to shoot it out of the air with some Water Strikes, since the annoying but cute creature stole my wand.

"Vi's right. Maybe it's just a smart bird." Hathus. He's a Shadow mage, like his father. He's a bit strange, but I prefer being around him more than Mat.

"That knows how to communicate and set stuff up? Yeah right!"

Right now we were headed to our clubhouse, the meeting spot for The Silver Phoenix, no relation to The Phoenix Gang. I've only been part if the club for a few weeks, but it already feels like another Home.

"-ily?"

My head shoots up. My mind starts recalling the last few seconds.

"Pfft, what makes you think the Freshie knows?" Even to outsiders, the normally derogatory term holds nothing but affection. "And even then, you know she holds the Professor in high-regard."

They're talking about Professor Lakewood again. She's the headmaster of The Varrockian Wizard's Academy. She's also rumored to be one of the strongest Air Mages alive, but she's so nice I have trouble thinking of her having so much power.

"I don't understand why it even matters, Mat. If she has an eye on us, she obviously doesn't mind since we get so little punishments."

It's one of the go-to topics for our group. Ever since we found that Ignite spell, we've been seeing that white bird more and more.

"Bah. She probably just doesn't want to upset her former boss." The Vyrell's and Umbra's are children of Archmages from The Wizard's Tower. They tell me that Professor Lakewood user to be there, but she switched guilds a lot when they were younger. I guess she gather more information and potential Teachers, since she started The Academy up only a few years ago.

I start tuning them out again. Most of their conversations don't involve me too much, and if I was needed they'd usually repeat themselves for me.

"cAAA!"

The sudden noise echos around the street. Heads turn to find the source, but my doesn't. It's a sound I haven't heard in a long time, but I'm very familiar with it. In the afternoon crowd it's easy to get lost in the sea of people. I break off from my group and make my way to an alley, glad I didn't wear any of my Wizarding Attire. Even if I chose wrong, I would only have to wait for a few minutes before He would find me. He always found me.

* * *

What a strange sound. We continue to the outskirts of the city. Our meeting place is by the river, strangely useful ever since Emily joined our group. A lot of the things that Mathias and Hathus do usually need her water spells to fix the fallout, so it's a small relief.

"Anything new about that Prophecy from the Carnival?" Hathus was referring to a prophecy a Seer from the local Carnival foretold. I was creeped out by her, but finding out that the Headmaster was there the whole time was scarier.

"No, none of the professors mentioned anything."

Coach Koren and Professor Kori were with us when we went to the Carnival. They said that they'd keep us updated on the situation, since the prophecy was referring to us. Wait, somebody was missing from our group. "Hey, where'd Emily go?" The small Water Mage in training held a soft spot in my heart. Something about her just made me want to make sure she was safe from evil.

"Eh, she's a tough girl. I'm sure she's fine."

"Mathias!" My brother was always like that with her. I don't know if it's indifference or trust, but it was annoying.

"If it bothers you that much, Vi, I can send Lucifer to go look for her."

The named Shadow Wolf perked up. I should probably mention that Hathus had a Shadow Wolf as a Summon. He never really explained how that worked now that I think about it. "Thanks, Hathus."

"Gee, Vi. Sure /you're/ not the one with a crush on her?"

"Wha-! Ruby!" The two boys are roaring with laughter. I look away in embarrassment, but a few Air Strikes shut them up. I would have shot another one to the Female Umbra but her face said she was just joking.

"I'm just worried for her. She's still young and you know-"

* * *

"-what kind of sicko's wander these streets." The fact that she could perform Water Magic was a small relief, but I doubted her reactions to defend herself from the hardened Gangs around here.

"I'm not worried. You're here, I know you can fight them off." It's a bit strange, hearing her voice. Something about that tone of pure adoration makes me want to protect her at all costs. It's a nice change from the voices of the Gang I lead.

"How's the Academy been treating you?" I tear off some bread and hand her it. She looks at me accusingly but accepts it anyway.

"It's been going great. I've learned a lot more than I could have on books alone." At least We can agree on her happiness, if nothing else.

She shows off some of the spells she's learned, I'm rather impressed. Instant Drinking Water, a filter for stench, she even has a spell for fires. "I've kept you long enough, Emily." The feeling of being watched falls over me. Hopefully it's nobody who'll harm her. "You should head back."

"When will I see you again?" My heart twists, it's shouldn't be right for that much longing to be contained in someone so young.

"We'll see." The presence stays. It feels like I'm being circled by a predator, but at last it leaves. I'm not sure why, but those wisps of smoke trouble me.

* * *

AN: This is an idea that's been floating around my head for a couple days. It's based off of the settings of the role-play "Varrockian Academy of Magic" based in w41. Flames will be used to roast my kills, but helpful Criticism is appreciated.


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